by JAMES S. KIM | @james_s_kim
editor@charactermedia.com
Doctors usually don’t stray too far from their area of expertise–unless you’re Ken Jeong, of course. The physician-turned-actor and comedian knows a thing or two about switching careers, which is why he was seemingly the perfect director for the 30 for 30 short film on Reginald “Reggie” Ho, a pre-med student at the University of Notre Dame who was part of the acclaimed football team that won a national championship in 1988.
As far as inspiring stories go, Notre Dame already has one in Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, who played for the Fighting Irish in 1976 as a walk-on defensive end. Reggie Ho, who grew up in Hawaii, never dreamed of playing football in college until he decided that he needed a more well-rounded life as a pre-med student. That meant trying out for the university’s football team.
Ho had an unorthodox way of doing things, but it worked.
About 5-foot-5 tall and weighing 135 pounds, Ho, like Rudy, didn’t really fit the mold for a Division I (D-I) football player. But as the team’s primary kicker, Ho would play an important role in Notre Dame’s most recent undefeated season.
“He is the most unlikely football hero ever,” Jeong told Keith Olbermann last week, “and he is a doctor, a cardiologist—an electro-physiological cardiologist—85 times smarter than me, than I ever was as a doctor.”
“He’s a better guy, a better human being,” he continued. “Way more humble, way less loud and over the top. He’s just everything I’m not. I’m the anti-Ho, in many ways. I’m really here to meet my mirror-image twin, and he’s just been amazing, he’s so inspiring.”
Great photo of #NDFBalum Reggie Ho with the football he kicked during the 1988 game vs Michigan. Thanks @NDFIDM! pic.twitter.com/frqVvnr6zy
— Notre Dame Football (@NDFootball) April 10, 2014
However, “over-the-top” is exactly what Ho was good at–sending the pigskin up and through the uprights. During night practices in a parking lot, the student-athlete used his knowledge of physics and his own body to mathematically come up with the best way to kick the ball from any position.
Most notably, Ho successfully kicked 4 out of 4 field goals against powerhouse Michigan to give Notre Dame the victory. Ho didn’t receive any financial support from the school, but that didn’t deter him from either of his priorities that year. After team practices, Ho would go straight to the library to make finish his coursework.
Although he walked away from football after just one year and now lives comfortably with his family out of the spotlight, Ho hasn’t forgotten how to kick. Watching him step back onto the same field, get into position for a kick and do his signature finger wiggle is pretty dang cool. You can watch the 13-minute film at this link or below..
Featured photo courtesy of ESPN
